Exchangeable potassium can help rice reduce radiation pollution

According to a new study by Japan's agricultural and food industry technology research institute, the application of exchangeable potassium fertilizer to paddy fields polluted by radioactive cesium can reduce the amount of radioactive cesium absorbed by brown rice by at least half Exchangeable potassium is the form of potassium absorbed directly by crops, but the amount of exchangeable potassium in soil is quite limited Researchers from Japan's agricultural and food industry technology research institute recently conducted experiments on farms in four counties, Fukushima, Ibaraki, zuomu and qunma The soil in all four counties was contaminated by radioactive materials leaked from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident They found that brown rice, which was fertilized with exchangeable potassium, absorbed at least half of the radioactive cesium compared with brown rice harvested in fields without radioactive potassium The researchers believe that cesium and potassium have similar chemical properties, so potassium is absorbed by rice instead of cesium However, the researchers found that the more exchangeable potassium is applied, the better the effect is In the soil with a very high amount of exchangeable potassium, the more exchangeable potassium is applied, the less the effect is "This method works in soils with a very low amount of exchangeable potassium," said Kato, the agency's chief researcher If brown rice is further processed into milled rice, the concentration of radioactive cesium will be further reduced It is hoped that this method will be adopted in some areas of Japan this year "